Incidents at the Northern Border

The Beginning of... What?

The incidents in the vicinity of the village of Tanusevci in which three soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM) were killed was “the drop that spilled the cup” in favour of coordinated action of Macedonian soldiers and members of KFOR against “Albanian terrorists”, Macedonian use of force and the demand – which was accepted – for urgent convening of a session of the UN Security Council where Macedonia will ask for the establishment of a buffer zone on the Kosovar side of the border.

AIM Skopje, March 5, 2001

On Sunday morning, about 9.30 h, two members of ARM, captain Kirco Dimitriev (aged 33) and professional soldier Dejan Jakimovski (26) died due to consequences of explosion of an anti-tank mine the “Iltis” military vehicle had run across while escorting vehicles of the OSCE, UNHCR and British diplomats on the road in the region of the village of Tanusevce. Just a quarter of an hour later, at the post about 50 metres below the Tanusevci watch-tower, 24-year old professional soldier of ARM Dejan Jakimovski was killed by a bullet shot from a fortified sniper post from the same village.

Macedonian state leadership which has in the past few days practically been constantly in session, after the so far most severe incidents at the Macedonian-Kosovar border when an unidentified group of armed men had taken and held positions in the village of Tanusevci, decided to demand an urgent session of the Security Council. Foreign minister of Macedonia Srdjan Kerim departed to New York where he will take the floor at the session of the Council. After consultations with Western diplomats and the meeting with special envoy of UN Secretary General for Kosovo Hans Hekerup and KFOR Commander Carlo Cabigiosu, coordinated military action of Macedonian army and KFOR from both sides of the border have been announced, because the Macedonian party believes that except for the attempt to unstable Macedonia, this is also the intention to spill over armed conflicts to the territory of Macedonia.

“After admirable restraint from action manifested by Macedonian military authorities concerning the two-week long provocations”, declared Carlo Ungaro, head of OSCE mission in Skopje, after the latest incidents “the international community would not find it hard to understand if the authorities of the Republic of Macedonia took action”. US Ambassador in Macedonia declared: “The USA have clearly declared that they do not eliminate the use of military means in response to the situation and they would understand such a decision of Macedonian government, if it corresponded to the situation in the field and if it is reached in coordination with NATO”. All things considered, this means that the West has approved of a military solution in cleansing the village of Tanusevci of those who have been controlling it for more than two weeks. Until yesterday Macedonian military and police forces were stationed in positions around the village and did not react to everyday provocations of barricaded members of the so far unknown formation. The action of fast cleansing of was not undertaken because of the hesitation of the international community to give in any way its approval for the use of force by the Macedonian party.

The problems linked to the fall of Tanusevci which is on the slopes of Skopska Crna Gora near Skopje are not altogether new. While SFRY existed, by its infrastructure and every other activity of the population, this village was connected more to Kosovo than to Macedonia on the territory of which it is located. After Macedonia had become independent, the village found itself in total isolation: on the Macedonian side its connections did not get any better, and on the side where Kosovo lies, where almost all activities of the population used to take place undisturbed, suddenly there was a border. It is practically uncontestable that in these ten odd years the situation has not changed. It is gradually becoming known in public that the inhabitants of Tanisevci did not have even the fundamental personal documents of the state they lived in, that they could not use many of its services... The inhabitants shifted around for themselves and found ways, despite the new border, to communicate with the environment they had relied on for years.

Although the village is on the very border, there has never been a border crossing there, indeed there has practically been no border at all, because the Macedonian party did not guard it. Before and after the crisis in Kosovo, apart from the smugglers, this part of the border which was not guarded, was used by others, so it is claimed that is how arms arrived through this village and other things for the needs of Kosovo Liberation Army. In the vicinity of the village is the “Kodra fura” watch-tower close to which several incidents have happened in the past few years, which were mostly explained as clashes of Macedonian police with smugglers.

The latest developments around Tanusevci started on February 16, when a crew of Skopje A-1 TV station went to the village to allegedly do a reportage about the inhabitants who live on the territory of one state and link their activities to the territory which still has not been defined because it is a part of Kosovo. As it is known, the crew was detained by a group of armed men, its TV equipment was confiscated, and then it was released... That is how the public learnt that a part of the territory and border of Macedonia was not controlled by its police and army. After the incident with the crew of “A-1” TV, there have been several other incidents with shooting in which the first victim was Muzaref Xhaferi, according to ones, a shepherd, according to others, a member of a terrorist group, extremist Albanians and similar.

Since then, practically until Sunday, the situation was as follows: the village was under control of unidentified armed persons, the population fled to their friends and relatives on the Kosovar side of the border, to the village of Debalde which was marked as the centre of logistic assistance to those who are controlling Tanusevci. Macedonian state leadership has initiated intensive contacts with the international community demanding among other the approval to use force in order to “clarify the situation in 30 minutes” as spokesman of the government Antonio Milosovski declared.

Western diplomats and representatives of the international community were restrained in “sending the favourable signals” for the use of force in clarifying the situation. There is no agreement about the question who is backing the persons who control Tanusevci with arms – Macedonian state authorities claim that they have come from Kosovo, that they get logistic support from there, they accuse KFOR of failing to control the Kosovar part of the border, and even of tolerating paramilitary operations. On the other hand, some Western diplomats believed that Macedonian authorities were unnecessarily making too much fuss, that the situation was not that risky at all. After the incidents, which strengthened the position of Macedonian state authorities, for instance, Hans Hekerup declared after the meeting with them “We have no definite proof that what is happening at the border was caused or is coming from the Kosovar side” of the border..

Internally, the government is demonstrating unity, at the meeting with the leaders of political parties, president of the state Boris Trajkovski won full support. The Democratic Party of the Albanians is in a prominent position, because it participates in power and supports the measures of the government, which creates significant problems with the people since it is accused of acting against the Albanians and in favour of an alliance between Macedonia and Serbia. That is the interpretation of the signing and ratification of the agreement on the border between Macedonia and FR Yugoslavia, which also refers to the part with Kosovo, without consulting those they represent or lead them.

It remains to be seen whether after the latest explicit support of the international community, Macedonian state authorities will start applying force in order to settle things and take over control of the territory which belongs to the Macedonian state. Before his departure to New York where he will speak at the session of Security Council, foreign minister Kerim declared that consultations were taking place of Macedonian and KFOR officers about coordinated action. It is believed in Skopje that there will be no military action before the session of the Security Council. It remains to be seen what will happen. In the meantime information arrived that a couple of mortar shells were shot at the position of Macedonian soldiers.

AIM Skopje

ISO RUSI